Fact-checking: Was it worth it?

11/8/12 4:02 PM EST

2012 was the coming-out party for the fact-checking industry. But did it make a difference?

The New York Times’ David Carr argues that it didn't, because it didn't force candidates to tell the truth. In an election-day column, “A Last Fact Check: It Didn’t Work,” Carr wrote that “as the campaign draws to a close, it’s clear that it was the truth that ended up as a smoldering wreck.”

“Both candidates’ campaigns laid out a number of whoppers, got clobbered for doing so, and then kept right on saying them,” he wrote.

PolitiFact, an organization whose name has become synonymous with the industry, takes issue with that conclusion.

"We’ve heard this argument before," PolitiFact editor Bill Adair writes. “This is a silly measurement of our work. Our mission is to inform readers, not change the behavior of politicians. And it's ridiculous to think that our new form of accountability journalism would suddenly rewrite the traditions of American politics and end decades of lying by candidates and elected officials.”

“To argue that fact-checking is a failure because politicians keep lying is like saying that investigative reporting is worthless because politicians are still corrupt. Yes, they are still corrupt. But we do investigative reporting and fact-checking to give people the information they need to make wise choices,” he added.

“Fact-checking DID work," he continued. “We reached millions of voters and gave them valuable information. The fact-checking movement has had some great successes. And we're just getting started.”

As of now, Carr still believes fact-checking had a relatively small impact on the 2012, but that doesn't mean he disagrees with Adair's point.

"It seemed reasonable, and well thought out," Carr told POLITICO. "I have yet to notice fact checking gaining traction in mainstream consciousness, but that doesn't mean it won't at some point."

Elsewhere, the National Journal's Ron Fournier tweets that he's "shocked there is even a question about viability of fact checkers."